Australia is Tired of Being a "Laughingstock"

[Azex]

so realisticly speaking this means that in say, 5 or so years when they get round to this for real after all the war and natural disasters, Yahtzee can legally play Mortal Kombat?...

 

[JediMB]

We're still waiting for the US to have a proper 18+ rating, though.

"AO" doesn't count, since it effectively means that the game is banned from being released.

Who cares, mature is basically the 18+ rating here, we don't have anything like Australia's problem

See my reply at the top of this page.

 

[zehydra]

We're still waiting for the US to have a proper 18+ rating, though.

"AO" doesn't count, since it effectively means that the game is banned from being released.

The "M" rating is supposed to be 18+. You can't buy M rated games without an ID

 

[DeepwellBridge]

As a born again Christian who has just played through Bulletstorm and Dead Space 2... Australian Christians need to get their crap in gear.

Gaming is not a sin!

 

[Verlander]

Since when did WE have an "ABC News" Channel?

"We" being Australia? Australia has had an ABC News channel since the Australian networks starting sprouting digital TV versions.

It was more a sarcastic retort, based on Andy Chalk's comment "Theirs, not ours", based on the premise that a lot of the Escapists are not American!

 

[Sporky111]

That "Just and Secure Society" poster sent a chill down my spine. My propoganda senses are tingling.

But it's good to hear they're giving it more thought. Video games represent the largest single part of the entertainment industry, they'd be stupid not to give it the largest possible audience.

 

[Verlander]

It amazes me how many people are so very ill-informed and/or unintelligent.

Our (Australian) rating system is different from yours (U.S).

Note that some of us live in areas other than the US... and yes we have a different rating system in Canada too. Imagine that!

Seriously though that's not the video game rating system in AUS as there IS no current 18+ classification. If you use any examples of classification lists in any country with a game classification listing you'll notice that it differs greatly from the film listing because it's a different medium. Apples to oranges.

And yet another ill-informed individual.

"Classification (Markings for Films and Computer Games) Determination 2007"

[link]http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2009C00421/Html/Text#param60[/link]

We use the same system for video games and movies. We simply don't use the R (or X) for video games.

You're welcome.

No, it means that they use the same system as each other. As you have rightly said, there is no "R" or "X" classification for video games, which means that there is no 18+ classification for video games. People wouldn't be having this discussion if the problem didn't exist

 

[vxicepickxv]

They're going to need more than an 18+ only rating to stop being a Laughingstock.

 

[Vrach]

Achieving a Just and Secure Controlled Society

Exactly what I was thinking looking at that picture x.x

Just thought I'd fix that up there for ya. In all seriousness, this is too little too late in my eyes. It's a big step, and it will help, but this is an issue that should have been solved years ago, along with other issues that have crippled the games industry in Australia. There's other huge issues that need sorting out, but not so much related to this news.

All things considered, 'laughingstock' is the light-hearted brother of the views this country deserves. That's admittedly coming off as callous, and I guess I am a tad biased, that's my view on all this, and I know I'm not alone.

Ergh, fingers crossed I guess, but I would not be surprised at all if it still falls through.

And yeah, I agree, Australia has been the laughingstock of the world for a while with that position. It's practically "if we close our eyes shut real hard, games will surely stop existing", it's just embarrassing.

Oh well. Better late than never. For every fellow gamer out there, real happy for ya

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

That's not a consensus...

THIS is a CONSENSUS.

Heh.

 

[JediMB]

We're still waiting for the US to have a proper 18+ rating, though.

"AO" doesn't count, since it effectively means that the game is banned from being released.

The "M" rating is supposed to be 18+. You can't buy M rated games without an ID

The "M" rating is 17+.

The "AO" rating is 18+, and equals a national ban for all consoles.

 

[zehydra]

We're still waiting for the US to have a proper 18+ rating, though.

"AO" doesn't count, since it effectively means that the game is banned from being released.

The "M" rating is supposed to be 18+. You can't buy M rated games without an ID

The "M" rating is 17+.

The "AO" rating is 18+, and equals a national ban for all consoles.

One year off. It might as well be the 18+. A national ban for 18+ on consoles is absurd.

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

That "Just and Secure Society" poster sent a chill down my spine. My propoganda senses are tingling.

Oh thank god I´m not the only one.
I don´t even know what´s up with the picture,
maybe it´s the combination of the future-ish graphic design and the slogan itself,
but I can´t look at the damn thing without hearing the words in my head read by a calm, soothing female voice and imagining a cityscape where every screen has that logo on it.

So thanks Australia, for giving me nightmares.

Again.

 

[JediMB]

We're still waiting for the US to have a proper 18+ rating, though.

"AO" doesn't count, since it effectively means that the game is banned from being released.

The "M" rating is supposed to be 18+. You can't buy M rated games without an ID

The "M" rating is 17+.

The "AO" rating is 18+, and equals a national ban for all consoles.

One year off. It might as well be the 18+. A national ban for 18+ on consoles is absurd.

It is absurd, since neither of the console developers have any issues with releasing "18+" games outside of America.

 

[MR T3D]

That "Just and Secure Society" poster sent a chill down my spine. My propoganda senses are tingling.

Would you like to know more?

 

[Shirokurou]

About time...

 

[Adzma]

Speaking of DI, didn't that get released in Australia with no issues?

Anyways, glad to see that you guys have some politcions with some common sense down there.

Indeed it did. This is what we all keep squawking to the inept members of our soceity who call themselves politicians, and the idiots at the ACL too; the majority of the violent adult games are already here, they're just under classified.

Brendan O'Connor has been brilliant throughout this. He was the one who released the discussion paper on the issue since the Attorneys-General were all farting around with it, and he actually understands that it's about fixing a broken system, not letting "OVERLY VIOLENT VIDYA GAMEZ" into the country. The only gripe I have with him is when he went on about the silent majority BS. But his positives far outway that one negative.

 

[octafish]

Like I have said before the speed of this happening depends on Greg Smith the current NSW shadow Attorney-General and his attitude to an R18+ rating for video games. The NSW election is pretty much a Fait Accompli.

Greg Smith the MP for Epping is a born again Christian so he may have some misguided knee jerk reaction to the issue. If you live in NSW and are of voting age I suggest you email him or even better write an actual letter to inform him of what an R18+ rating will mean. Not that you will be able to buy Mortal Kombat, but that parents will be better informed as to the the suitability of mature games for their children. If you aren't of voting age, get your parents to write.

 

[RicoGrey]

I don't know if that really makes Australia a "laughing stock", but I can say it's about damn time that...they get around to talking about it more. Well, maybe one day something will be done.

Oh no, that makes them a laughing stock, I have been laughing at them for years over this issue. I do hope freedom prevails though, everyone should have the opportunity to become desensitized against violence.